Dental work doesn’t buy happiness, study finds

Expensive dental work makes you less optimistic, according to a South Australian study.

The study followed a group from the age of 13 to 30 to look at the impact orthodontic work has on psychosocial wellbeing.

Dr Esma Dogramaci, senior lecturer in Orthodontics at University of Adelaide and specialist orthodonist, said people who never had braces were happier than those who had them.

“Some people feel that having treatment earlier in life will set them up for adulthood, and what we found was braces didn’t do anything for them,” she told 3AW’s Ross and John.

“In fact, the people who never had braces were much better off.

“They were much more optimistic than the ones who did have braces.”

The study looked at people with a variety of dental problems, ranging from mild to severe crookedness.

Dr Dogramaci said the severity of dental problems was irrelevant to the study findings.

“Regardless of how bad their teeth were, the ones who didn’t have treatment were actually much better off,” she said.